Referring to FIG. 1, a partial side cross-section view of the head of a human 1 is shown in accordance with the present disclosure. During natural breathing processes, air inhaled/exhaled via openings in the mouth 2 and/or nose 5 is provided via corresponding air passageways 11 to/from the lungs. For many adults and children, breathing while sleeping may result in snoring. The audible sound resulting from snoring is caused by the vibration of tissue, such as, the soft palate and/or uvula, disposed along air passages 11 of the respiratory structures. One of the main causes of snoring is the opening of the mouth 2 while sleeping. When the mouth 2 is opened while sleeping, and the lower jaw is moved away from the upper jaw, tissue disposed along the air passages 11 may collapse over the air passages 11 and vibrate as air moves through, which causes the snoring sound. The snoring sound due to the collapsing of the air passages 11 may wake individuals within the vicinity of a snorer. Also, if the air passages 11 collapse completely, the snorer may be unable to breathe and forced to abruptly wake up, thus disturbing the snorer's sleep.
While many devices attempt to reduce the act of snoring by closing mouth 2 or maintaining the air passageways 11 open via various means, these devices suffer from many disadvantages, including being ineffective, uncomfortable, bulky, and/or expensive.
For example, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) devices are expensive, uncomfortable, bulky, and loud. CPAP devices use air compressors to provide air to a mask worn over the mouth 2 and nose 5 of the user 1 via a flexible hose. The air compressor makes continuous noise throughout the duration of the user's sleep as the air compressor is constantly maintaining a suitable pressure to support air delivery to the mask. Furthermore, the mask worn by the user 1 and corresponding hose attached to the mask necessitate that the user 1 wear uncomfortable components (e.g., the mask and hose) that protrude from the user's face. The mask and tube effect the user's ability to find a comfortable sleeping position and also provide a barrier between the user 1 and another individual, such as the user's spouse, sleeping proximately to the user. For example, a user 1 that prefers to sleep on their stomach, may be prevented from doing so while wearing a CPAP device because of the components of the CPAP device that protrude from the user's mouth and nose. Additionally, due to the size of CPAP devices, CPAP devices are inconvenient for transport when the user 1 is not sleeping at their normal residence and is travelling.
Any devices that are worn by a user to introduce or otherwise regulate gases and/or fluids (e.g., aiding inhalation by providing pressurized air, aiding exhalation by providing suction, etc.) while the user sleeps suffer from the deficiencies described above (e.g., protruding from the user's face, being uncomfortable, etc.) Another deficiency of devices that introduce or otherwise regulate gases and/or fluids via the user's mouth or nose, is the concern associated with a component failure in these devices. If a component fails while the user is sleeping, the device may no longer be able to aid in the user's sleep by delivering or regulating gases and/or fluids. Additionally, the fluids and/or gases introduced or regulated may become dangerous to the user upon a failure to be properly regulated, thus increasing the liability to the manufacturers and/or sellers of these devices. In general, the complexity of these devices introduces many points of failure and liabilities.
As another example, several devices, such as chinstraps and others, exist that attempt to reduce snoring by forcing the mouth 2 of the user 1 closed throughout the duration of the user's sleep. These mouth-closing devices also suffer from several disadvantages. For example, these mouth-closing devices often apply aggressive pressure to the lower jaw of the user 1 to force the lower jaw toward the upper jaw, thus maintaining the mouth in a closed state. This aggressive pressure may cause soreness for the user 1 about the user's jaw and other structures surrounding the jaw.
Additionally, these mouth-closing devices, like CPAP devices, may be bulky, including several components that protrude from the user's mouth, nose, or head. These components may prevent the user 1 from finding a comfortable sleeping position, for example, as stated above, in the scenario where the user 1 prefers to sleep on their stomach with their face oriented toward their pillow or mattress, these components prevent the user 1 from sleeping in this position. For users who change positions while sleeping, these protruding components may be caught on the user's pillow, pillow sheets, bed sheets, blankets, etc. while the user 1 attempts to change sleeping positions. Also, for users who sleep proximately to another individual, such as their spouse, these protruding components may prevent this proximity and/or interfere with the other individual's sleep.
Another major disadvantage of these mouth-closing devices is that they prevent and/or make it difficult for the user 1 to inhale and/or exhale any air from the user's mouth 2. Preventing a user 1 from breathing from their mouth 2 will cause a major impediment for many individuals while sleeping. Many individuals simply cannot receive enough air through nose to fully support the breathing processes that the body requires. This may be due to obstructions in the pathways of the nose, for example, because of congestion or abnormal tissue protrusions creating overly narrow air passages. Furthermore, many individuals simply are more comfortable inhaling/exhaling some or all of the air in the breathing process via their mouths. Since, for uninterrupted, restful sleep to occur, a certain level of comfort is required, preventing a user 1 that is more comfortable breathing through their mouth from breathing through their mouth during sleep will also prevent the user 1 from achieving uninterrupted, restful sleep.
Although some of these mouth-closing devices attempt to include provisions for breathing through the user's mouth, these provisions are ineffective. For example, some of these mouth-closing devices may leave a portion of the user's lips 3, 4 exposed in an attempt to enable some degree of breathing via the user's mouth while the user 1 is wearing the mouth-closing device during sleep. However, as shown in FIG. 1, when the mouth 2 is caused to remain in a closed position via one of these mouth-closing devices, the lips 3, 4 of the user 1 come into contact and completely seal the user's oral cavity, thus creating a closed pressure system within the user's oral cavity. Therefore, with lips 3, 4 being held in contact by the mouth-closing device, if the user 1 attempts to inhale air via the mouth 2, the lips 3, 4 are drawn toward the interior of the oral cavity, but the lips 3, 4 are prevented from parting to allow the entry of air into the oral cavity by the teeth 6, 7 and surround structures to the teeth 6, 7 (e.g., the gums) of the user, which sit behind the lips 3, 4 within the oral cavity. Thus, while the mouth 2 is held completely closed by the mouth-closing device and the lips 3, 4 are in contact, the user 1 cannot inhale air via their mouth 2. Furthermore, exhaling air is also very difficult with the mouth 2 being completely closed by the mouth-closing device and lips 3, 4 being in contact with each other. When an attempt is made to exhale air via mouth 2, the contacting lips 3, 4 resist the exit of air via the mouth 2 and any air that is released will result in the vibration of the lips 3, 4, which causes a clapping sound resulting from the lips 3, 4 repeatedly hitting each other. Thus, while the mouth 2 is held completely closed by the mouth-closing device and the lips 3, 4 are in contact, the user 1 cannot easily exhale air via their mouth 2 and when air is exhaled via the mouth 2 an audible sound is generated.
Another provision sometimes included in these mouth-closing devices to attempt to allow a user 1 some degree of mouth breathing while wearing the mouth-closing device is to enable the device to stretch or otherwise expand, such that the user 1 can part their lips 3, 4 while wearing the device. However, this provision requires a conscious, voluntary act of the user 1 to resist, and partially overcome, the force that the mouth-closing device is exerting on the lower jaw to cause the mouth 2 of the user 1 to close. This conscious, voluntary act of the user 1 causes the user 1 to wake up from the user's unconscious, sleeping state. Therefore, this provision is not effective in enabling the user 1 to breathe through the user's mouth 2 while wearing one of these mouth-closing devices.
In light of the disadvantages of existing devices for reducing and/or preventing snoring, a need exists for an anti-snoring device that is effective while also being comfortable and non-intrusive to the user's natural sleeping habits (e.g., sleeping position and/or sleeping proximately to other individuals).